Becker’s Pebble Creek Golf Course again hosted the Class A high school boys’ and girls’ golf tournament this week to two spectacular weather-wise days.
One hundred and seventy six boys and girls golfers teed off between 7:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday on the white and red courses.
Kiera Smith of Heritage Christian Academy emerged from the field as the girls’ top scorer. The sophomore shot a superb 38-38-76 in the first round, then an almost identical 38-39-77 to capture the state title with a 153.
Legacy Christian Academy took home the championship trophy on the women’s side with a combined score of 679 —easily beating the second place team of Fillmore Central by 22 points.
On the boys side, Ryan Pederson of United South Central shot a 74 Tuesday and followed that up with a 72 Wednesday to win the state title. Mounds Park Academy won the team title with a two-day total of 622.
Logan Jackson of Pillager had his family of supporters with him this week and he finished tied for 24th with a two-day total of 163. Logan’s grandfather was in the crowd, hooting and clapping for his grandson as he lipped out a close par putt on the ninth hole Wednesday afternoon.
“He just missed making state the last few years so when he got in this year he was really excited,” said Logan’s proud grandfather. “He’s a good kid and plans to continue to play golf when he heads off to college next year.”
Logan noticed the greens changed from Monday to tournament time and struggled until he got a better feel for them.
“Once I got onto the front nine, I had a good run of pars and started putting better,” he said. “I think I got a good feel for the greens. They were a lot faster today than during our practice round. Plus, they tucked some pins with a couple of double breakers. Today it was almost lag putting and then tap in for whatever.”
Pebble Creek Golf Pro Troy Malo ran the sign-up area and scoreboard while his crew of cart girls raced around the course taking care of team’s needs. Dwight Lundeen again chaired the event (his 23rd year) and he had several “helpers” as well as the tournament went off without a hitch. Lundeen’s job is to administer the play, control the play and meet and greet the teams, players and coaches. His “helpers” — six MGA officials — are placed throughout the golf course to assist with speeding up play, answering questions about play and helping with ruling of ball placement, stance, shots and general golf rules.
Becker Police reserve officers managed the parking lot and helped shuttle visitors to and from the golf course to the overflow parking at the Becker Community Center.
Becker has been fortunate to be the host of the Class A high school golf tournament for a number of years now and the benefit to the community is impactful.
Restaurants, hotels, convenience and grocery stores all reap the rewards of having over 60 schools — their players, family and friends — descend on Becker for the early-to-mid-week festivities.
For every one of the 176 players, there’s at least one other person staying here in Becker (coach, parent, friend) for the two to three days. Many schools’ families plan their summer week vacation around the state tournament and have grown familiar with the community and the welcoming restaurants and hotels.
“It’s been great for us and so nice to see the same groups of people each year,” said Shelly Mattson of Nix Bar and Restaurant in Becker. “This same family from Mahnomen comes in each year and they say ‘hi’ and end up ordering the exact same thing.”
That same thing would be the pulled pork sandwich, one of Nix’s favorite servings.
“We do very well these few days of the tournament for lunch especially,” said Mattson. “The golf tournament the city hosts makes a huge difference for us each year.”
Becker’s Crossings Inn and Suites by GrandStay had a changeover in July of last year and is now being run by Blue Sky Hospitality out of Elk River. Manager Andy Prose said his hotel has been bustling with activity since the changeover and is excited to see the hotel fill up during this week of state tournament golf.
“We are at 95% full and the golf course and tournaments are advantageous for us,” Prose said. “We’ve been working with Troy (Malo) since we came on board and its a pleasure working with such a fine establishment as Pebble Creek and the staff.”
Prose and Malo also feature a “play-and-stay” golf/hotel package that gives visitors to the area a great perk for staying in Becker and playing the golf course. Prose also hopes to have the hotel converted to a full GrandStay Hotel later this year — meaning having all the rooms upgraded to include kitchenettes to encourage patrons to be longer-staying guests.
Becker’s Pebble Creek has hosted the state Class A tournament the last eight years and the success and visibility of the tournament helps drive the local economy each and every summer. Pebble Creek was able to secure a contract with the MSHSL in 2013 to run the tournament another five years.
